Speaking with this newsroom soon after the idea was rejected by Mepa, Gozitan artist John Grima, who designed the four knights monument for Valletta City Gata, said that the artwork represents the spirit of Valletta, “prepared for new challenges and looking towards the future”.

MEPA yesterday turned down the proposal for the monument to be placed at City Gate. The proposal had drawn criticism from members of the public, as well as Valletta Mayor Alexei Dingli, who argued that Valletta does not need such a monument at its entrance.

“Where would Valletta be without the knights?” Mr Grima asked. “They are part of our national identity”.

The artist stressed that MEPA made clear that the problem was with the site, not the monument itself.

He explained that the statue of the four knights is a piece of art and not a monument. Mr Zammit added that the knights in the statue are not direct representations of the knights from the 1600s, “the bodies of the knights themselves are quite abstract.

Turning to criticism made about the structure, he said: ”I do not see them as ruining the work by Architect Renzo Piano, but rather as a furnishing adding on the experience”.